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APS Board Approves Agreement with Teachers Union

The contract increases the minimum salary for teachers to $34,000.

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a contract with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The union represents about 7,200 employees including teachers, librarians, counselors, nurses, social workers and language interpreters.

Union members had approved the contract by an 88 percent margin earlier in the week.

Among the highlights in the 2015-16 contract is a raise in the minimum salary for teachers to $34,000 annually from $32,000 annually. The contract also allocates $749,000 for teachers who move laterally, but not up a step on the state’s three-tier salary system.

The contract also:

Allocates $1.7 million to continue to cover the cost of the district’s mentoring program for new teachers or teachers referred by their principal for mentoring;

Includes a provision to set up a joint task force to study sick leave and incentives for attendance; and

Provides a differential of $1,000 for occupational and physical therapists and speech/language pathologists who complete professional certifications.